“You may enter,” Yao Shen’s voice thundered past the stone door, its noise isolation properties unable to contain his qi-empowered tone.
Wenjun Long, who had been standing a respectful distance away from the entrance, slowly turned his gaze towards Kang Long.
Then, he shook his head in dismay.
It had only been ten minutes— a mere ten minutes since Yao Shen had asked them to vacate the chamber, warned them even, to not encroach upon his claimed territory until the attempt was concluded.
Perhaps it was because Yao Shen understood the true nature of the artifact that they were dealing with and engaging with that line of thought, mayhaps the process or attempt to claim the artifact would leave him vulnerable to the attacks of a Nascent Soul Cultivator.
But Wenjun Long could not be certain.
For it could easily be a deliberate temptation offered, a feigned vulnerability that if chanced upon, would give Yao Shen both the opportunity and the justification to exterminate him.
While certain aspects of the Modern Sect’s Grand Patriarch remained indecipherable to him, Wenjun Long’s long and storied existence had not been for naught. Kang Long, for one reason or the other, was integral to Yao Shen’s overly ambitious yet seemingly naive ambitions.
He, Former Patriarch of the Divine Mountain Sect, was not.
Nevertheless, before Wenjun Long could even have begun to even entertain the possibility of testing Yao Shen’s defenses, the Grand Patriarch of the Modern Sect had evidently conceded.
“Has the attempt gone awry?” Kang Long asked thoughtfully, directing a curious gaze towards the chamber.
“A possibility,” Wenjun Long acknowledged after a long moment. Heaven’s Veilstone had rendered their divine sense oblivious to the proceedings that had transpired within the chamber, yet it was also a material that was as brittle as mortal rock.
If Yao Shen had suffered a physical attack, the Heaven’s Veilstone walls would simply crumple onto itself, but the possibility of a spectral one could not be discounted.
“Let us proceed,” Wenjun Long uttered, choosing to take the lead.
The stone door leading into the chamber was slowly pushed open, casting Yao Shen’s silhouette in sharp relief against the light that streamed in. Positioned before the cauldron, Yao Shen turned his gaze to meet Wenjun Long’s.
Kang Long followed to stand at Wenjun Long’s side and then there was abject silence.
The two cultivators of the Divine Mountain Sect had their gazes rooted to a single spot. The center of the cauldron, where the hammer and baton artifact had been resting for decades.
What had drawn their attention to the spot was not the artifact itself, moreso the distinct lack of it.
Kang Long drew a sharp breath as he slowly angled his gaze towards Yao Shen. It only took a moment for his suspicions to be confirmed.
Firmly clasped in Yao Shen’s hands, was the hammer and baton artifact. Instead of the malevolent red aura they had come to associate with the cursed artifact left behind by their ancestors, Wenjun and Kang Long discovered a soothing earthen-brown glow emanating from the lines of greater runescript enveloping the artifact.
“This is…,” Wenjun Long trailed off as he involuntarily took a step forward, his instincts as an Earth Cultivator driving him towards the unique aspect of the Dao of Earth contained within the artifact.
As a Major Dao of Earth Cultivator himself, Wenjun Long possessed an understanding of the element that surpassed Yao Shen’s own. For he had painstakingly meditated upon the various Minor Daos of Earth, sometimes even requiring years to acquire but a single Minor Dao of Earth. From the strength of ‘rock’ to the malleability and cunningness of the element of ‘sand’, it was a conglomeration of all the facets of his understanding of the Earth element that allowed him to reach the Major Dao stage.
In juxtaposition, Yao Shen had been gifted his understanding of the Major Daos of Wind, Fire and Earth. How could it possibly compare to the mastery Wenjun Long had gained over a lifetime of struggle, forging his path forward without any guarantee of succeeding in gaining enlightenment over the aspect he sought?
And yet…
It was Yao Shen that had gained dominion over the artifact. Him, over generations of proud cultivators of the Divine Mountain Sect, the source of their hubris ironically the same discipline an outsider had just bested them in.
Was it because he was a Soul Emperor?
No.
If the fifth stage of cultivation was the only requirement, then his ancestors would have found a way to claim the artifact.
‘Unfathomable,’ The solitary word echoed in Wenjun Long’s mind.
“Runebound Oresplitter,” Yao Shen words were uttered with a gravitas that weighed down upon his audience. “That is the true name of this artifact.”
“Have you truly….,” Kang Long’s voice dwindled into silence as the words he was reaching for eluded him. His visage, usually a mask of stern composure that conveyed the dignity of a Patriarch was now a blank canvas, his features seemingly frozen in place.
Even Yao Shen had not expected Kang Long to be overwhelmed to this extent.
“I have secured the artifact’s allegiance,” Yao Shen confirmed, intentionally framing his response cryptically. “But know this— the artifact belongs to me and only me.”
“What do you mean by that statement, Patriarch Yao?” To his credit, Wenjun Long’s tone lacked any overt anger at his inflammatory words— it appeared that the seasoned cultivator had noticed the peculiar way Yao Shen had worded his declaration.
Yao Shen allowed a small smile to tug at his lips as he gently reached for the cauldron with Runebound Oresplitter still securely contained in his grip.
It was very like the Dwarves to name their artifacts based on the utility they provided to the Mountain over ostentatious, grandiose names that were intended to elicit emotions of awe and pangs of desire. Whilst ‘morale’ was not an unfamiliar concept to the Dwarves, they had no reason to attach the same level of importance to it— considering that the entirety of their population lived in harmony within the Dwarven Mountain Rage.
The simplistic name was also a reminder that Yao Shen was still a ways off from extending his Human Dao abilities to another race. Meeting Vondar had been a serendipitous encounter, one that was unlikely to repeat itself.
Yao Shen’s expression was serene as he allowed himself to let go of the artifact, allowing it to gently rest in the center of the cauldron.
The change was almost instant.
Wenjun Long observed with rapt attention as the artifact reverted to its previous state, a feeling of dismay filling his heart as the wondrous new aspect of the Dao of Earth that was unknown to him was replaced with a disconcerting red.
“Nascent Soul, Soul Emperor and,” Yao Shen paused, taking a moment to let the tension build in the air, “... evenbeyond. As you are well aware, there exist many beings stronger than myself on this continent. Yet, if they attempt to wrest this artifact out of my possession, they will fail. If they try to brute-force past its defenses, it will simply self-destruct. That is why it belongs only to me.”
Yao Shen saw the surge of alarm in Wenjun Long’s gaze, noticed the gears in his mind turning as the former Patriarch considered all the political implications of Yao Shen’s revelation in a single moment.
Then, he stepped forward. His movements were jerky and unrefined, but he paid them no heed as he crossed the distance between him and Yao Shen in the blink of an eye.
Yao Shen’s gaze remained carefree as Wenjun Long’s hand shot forward towards Runebound Oresplitter, making no attempt to stop him.
For a moment, he held on.
Then a second.
Followed by a third.
A bead of sweat dripped down his forehead.
Then, without hesitation, he withdrew his hand.
The chamber was silent, except for the heavy gasps the former Patriarch of the Divine Mountain Sect drew.
“You….,” He uttered between gasps, still reeling from the backlash of the Artifact. “... want us to call…. for the Flame Division’s Patriarch….”
There was no question in his tone, only a statement.
The grin on Yao Shen’s visage could no longer be contained.
“Indeed.”